Help Plumbing Heating Cooling and Electric

It could not have gone better. The technician, Chris, was a consummate professional, customer focused, polite and expert at his job. Everyone - from scheduling to the technicians - are A+ ---- I highly recommend Thompson.

I have been going back and forth on whether to report my bad experience with Thompson but given how similar my experience was compared to another report where a woman was home alone when the technician arrived, I felt obligated. Further, my experience was drastically different than a friend of mine who's husband was home when they dealt with Thompson. It seems apparent that one of their business models is scare tactics. The technician was certainly nice-in fact super nice. As soon as he started looking at my furnace he started in on how old it was-yes it is 24y old. I didn't know how old it was as we've only been in the house 6y but I did know we had a dysfunctional electrostatic filter. However, despite it's age it seems to work fine and our energy costs are not excessively high. From the age he went straight to safety. Then he started with, "did you hear about that elderly couple that died in their sleep b/c of a bad furnace". I played along with him and at the time I didn't really think much about the strategy he was clearly employing. Instead I went upstairs and started researching tips on buying a new furnace. He then put a camera in the heat exchanger-he called it an "infrared" camera. With his "infrared" camera he showed me what he called were potential cracks and he said that the powder visible on the camera was "powdered carbon monoxide". I almost stopped him there to inform him that carbon monoxide is a gas not a solid but I decided to let him keep going because I wasn't really sure whether the scratches I was seeing on the screen were in fact potential cracks in the heat exchanger. Of course he was so "helpful" and said if his supervisor deemed the furnace unsafe they would bring me space heaters for the night and replace the furnace the next day. However, the comment that really was over the top though was "is your husband available to help you make a decision". Seriously dude-really? You had to go there? The supervisor came and did not deem it unsafe but thought it was imperative that I replace the furnace. So I told him to give me some quotes. It was amazing how fast he was able to give me a quote. He figured out the size of the furnace by walking around the outside of my and looking at my windows. I wasn't quite sure how long it took to do a load calculation at the time but the friend that referred to Thompson said her guy (her husband was home) took at least a half hour and spent time showing them all the calculations necessary to determine the size of furnace appropriate for her home. My guy (Jerry) did not go upstairs to see what the space was like (some is unfinished) or to check the type of insulation. Of course I told I would think about it. Concerned, I scheduled two more appointments to ensure that the furnace did need immediate replacing but if it did then I figured I would get 2 additional quotes. I didn't need the quotes. The 2nd opinion I got from Nelson comfort the next day (and to be fair i made it clear to them that it was a 2nd opinion) was that there was some rust but no damage to the heat exchanger and the carbon monoxide levels were normal. The key here being that he actually gave me carbon monoxide levels. He cleaned and serviced the system and replaced my filter. My furnace has been working fine. Just a warning to educate yourself and don't be fooled by the niceness. Keep your guard up and make it clear that you're not going to buy a system right then and there. Maybe then they won't b******* you about their "infrared" camera's and carbon monoxide powder.

they found and proved the issues and explained in details the options!!! They took extensive time to educate us as homeowners which is rare!!

explained that we had a dripping shower and a slow-filling toliet. after examining both issues the service specialist stated that we needed a new cartridge in the shower, and also gave us the option of changing out a shut-off valve and tank filler or replacing the toliet. the cost would be about the same to do either, and the new toliet would be a definite upgrade with a five year warranty. i was very surprised by the estimate because i was expecting to pay a couple hundred dollars to have these items fixed. i believe josh was very honest and above-board in his explanation of what was needed. and there was no pressure to replace, he was very professional and cleaned up after himself through the entire process.

The responsiveness during a busy holiday season exceeded my expectations: they arrived within 2 hours of my call and I am a new customer. The professionalism that Rick showed was appreciated in keeping the work area very clean and taking the time to show me the damage and how he was going to repair it. Well done, will use them again.

Jerry did a great job. He was on time, professional and clean. I appreciated the time he took to educate me on my water and plumbing. Jerry showed me all of the parts replaced and made sure that everything was working the way it should be. As a female I am leery of having repair people in my home while I am alone. I felt comfortable having him in my home and would welcome him to come back in the future. The price was fair and Jerry was very efficient.

NATE M. IS AN EXCELLENT TECHNICIAN!!! HE'S A WONDERFUL YOUNG MAN AND IS EXTREMELY KNOWLEDGEABLE AND DEDICATED IN HIS WORK!!! WE HAVE A CLUB MEMBERSHIP, WHICH IS WORTH THE MONEY AND SAVINGS! OUR HEATING SYSTEM IS 16 YEARS OLD AND NATE M. DID AN EXCELLENT JOB FROM START TO FINISH, FROM THE FULL TUNE-UP, TO REPLACING THE PARTS TO KEEP THE HEATING SYSTEM WORKING EFFECIENTLY! WE WILL BE REQUESTING NATE M. FROM NOW ON, FOR ANYTHING RELATING TO OUR HEATING AND A/C!!!

I switched to Thompson this fall and became a club member because I had central air installed in 2007 by another company and this past summer the condensation from the coil began leaking from the coil in the attic through the ceiling in my living room. The company that installed the AC had come to the house 3 times and I was told that they were stumped. So I switched to Thompson Thompson called me the week of 12/5/2011 to schedule my furnace tune-up which was free as part of the club membership. Josh B arrived about 10:50 which was during scheduled appointment period of 10:00 and noon. Josh looked over the furnace very thoroughly and found a couple of issues with the furnace. He took photos on his phone for my reviewand explained all of the issues in a way that was easy to understand. Unfortunately for me, I could either spend $1,200 on a 10 year old furnace and or replace it. Josh was very straight forward about the repairs and explained that type of furnace installed in my attic was not made for attic installations and on top of that, the furnace not been installed correctly which was a major contributor to the issues he found - one of which was that carbon monixide was being released into the attic. Fortunately the attic is well ventilated so as to not be a health hazard. We discussed all of my options: whether to do some of the repairs, all of the repairs or the possibility of replacing the furnace. Seeing how concerned I was over the thought of putting in a new furnace, Josh called a senior technician and asked if he could come over to the house to look things over. Being that it was about noon, Josh went to lunch while the senior technical could finish up a job and they both arrived back at the house around 1:30. Hubie H, the senior technician, did another very throrough inspection of the furnace. Then he started looking at replacement options - whether or not to put the new furnace in the attic replacing the old one or if possible to put it inside the house. Hubie and Josh spent a considerable amount of time looking over the house taking into account where the gas line, electric, and air vents were locatred. Hubie took some measurements and after making some calls he sat down with me to discuss options availalbe to me for a new furnace installation if I decided to go that route. After taking in all of the information provided by Josh and Hubie I decided to go ahead and replace the furnace with a new one. Hubie informed that they had all of the necessary parts in stock and that they could install it the next day. I was really surprised at how much time Josh and Hubie spent not only looking over the existing furnace but with talking to me and making sure I had all of the information I needed to make a decision. I was very impressed with both Josh and Hubie. They were very friendly, professional, courteous, and very knowledgeable. I would definately recommend them and Thompson.

Overall, everything went well. I was very pleased with the work. The plumber explained the problem and walked me through what he was doing to fix it. I will use them again if I have the need. Michael was very courteous and I would recommend them.

Bill evaluated the problem and got right to work. He encountered some old drain cleanout issues. The house was built in 1968 and we moved in in 1970, so I know the drain cleanout had not been opened for at least 41 years. He was able to fix all issues and get the job done quickly. The total job (drain cleanout and main supply line shutoff valve replacement) took about 3 hours and he never took a break or stopped working. All necessary parts were on his truck, so he never left the job site. He did an excellent job! He also took time to answer my questions and show me what he was doing. I really appreciate that personal touch. I would highly recommend Bill S. and Thompson Plumbing Heating and Cooling.

It began on Sunday11/6/11 with a leaky kitchen faucet that I could not repair. We called Thompson that afternoon and they called back within the hour to schedule an appointment for the next day in the morning. Ken Cox arrived at the appointed time and it was determined that the single point faucet had to be replaced. This is a special order and as soon as it is available the installation will be made. We joined the Energy Savings Club that day. The benefits include discounts on parts equipment and servicing of the heating and A/C units. An appointment was made for Wednesday 11/23/11 the day before Thanksgiving to service the 24 year old gas furnace. Ken Stoll, service technician, arrived promptly for the 9:15 appointment. Using a camera he detected and showed me on the monitor the cracks in the heat exchanger which could allow for potentially hazardous gasses to enter our home. In a very professional manner he explained the options available to us. My wife and I decided to proceed with a new high efficiency(95%) furnace. The equipment was delivered by 1:00 P.M. that afternoon and the temporary hookup was completed by 2:30 PM by John M and a helper. John M and T. J. arrived at 8:30 AM on Friday 11/25 and the permanent installation was completed by 2:30PM. It was also necessary to replace some rusted flue piping from the furnace and the water heater. All of this was included in the quoted price. No extra's. The men wore booties to prevent tracking dirt into the house put down runners to protect the flooring and stair carpeting. All of the old parts were taken away and the work space was cleaned before they left. We were impressed with the professional, well trained and friendly technicians and the well organized support staff. We will recommend Thompson Plumbing Heating and Cooling to our friends and neighbors. Ron and Betsy Schapp

Thompson had called to present an offer to clean our furnace and tune up and I accepted the deal. They were able to come out the next day. The technician was on time and extremely polite with my wife. He even let my 4 year old son watch him while he worked. This is the highlight of my experience. He informed my wife that he was astonished that the furnace still running. He went through a list of shorts and parts that were “on the verge of failure.” He wrote up an estimate to replace the blower and the pilot manifold and presented it to my wife. The estimate was in the $800 to $900 range. He conveniently recommended that instead of putting the money into fixing the 25 year old furnace, we should buy a new one. He estimated the cost to replace the furnace to be in the $5000 range. Before leaving, he set up an appointment to have his “supervisor” come out and check our furnace and discuss a replacement. Again, he was super polite and friendly tech. My wife communicated the issue to me and it sounded like a lot of the issues were extremely convenient for Thompson to sell me a new furnace. I told her to hold off and that I would check into things before we moved further. I checked Angie’s list first and noticed at least 10 other cases of this happening; tech comes for service – notices something is about to fail – recommends buying new etc… My wife was adamant that this guy was super nice and there is no way he would do that to us. So to appease her I called around. I called a local company that my father had good reviews of and explained the situation. When I finished the story, he said, “does the name of the company start with a ‘T’ ?” He then proceeded to inform me that this is there business model, they don’t want your $90 to clean your furnace, they want your thousands to replace the system. He informed me that the technicians are essentially salesmen that get commissions in these situations. I then asked him about his cost to replace the 2 parts from the Thompson estimate and he said it should be about half of the price they quoted. He offered to come out and check the work to see if the estimate was honest. Not wanting to pay $100 for a consultation, I decided to call a friends’ father who was a retired HVAC company owner. He came out the next day and proceeded to inform me that my furnace was in fine working order, the parts Thompson said were failing were working fine, and the furnace is fine considering the cost savings we would get from a new, more efficient model. I was also told that he sees this all the time from Thompson and that is how they operate. My complaints with Thompson Heating and Cooling: · Misleading about the state and condition of the furnace Furnace is working fine and will last 10 more years Misleading about the condition of specific parts. Both parts he said needed to be replaced were/are working fine · Exaggerated the efficiency of the furnace He told us the furnace was 60% efficient when it is actually 75% efficient · Inflated the cost of part replacement The actual cost should be half of what we were quoted · Inflated the cost of part replacement to make furnace replacement more appealing Putting 300 to 400$ into repairs is easier to swallow that 800 to 900$ · The replacement cost of the furnace His ballpark figure was nearly double what it would cost for a furnace for a house this size · Tech was there to clean and tune up the furnace The inside of the furnace was not cleaned very well.

We were impressed enough with them that we joined their membership program. We are very pleased with their service. They did a very good job. They were very professional. They came in and did a survey on the equipment that was there. They determined the problem and we hired them to put in a new unit. We pay a monthly fee. During the heating season they come around and do a complete check on the furnace. In the summer and do a complete check on the AC. They installed it the first time and I didn't like it, they came back and reinstalled it for free and set it up the way I wanted. We joined their club that you pay for monthly and it includes the major check ups twice a year and they also give us a rate break on the work they have to do.

Thompson came out to perform routine service on condenser unit. Noted my unit to be low on refrigerant, and charged me ~$300 to charge the unit. Leak was suspected but not confirmed. Unit failed 1 week later and was told I needed to purchase a new condenser. No refrigerant had leaked upon re-evaluation. I was never given a reason for the system failure, but instead was presented with prices on new units starting at >$9000. I brought in another company and was offered the same systems from the same manufacturers for half the price. I did not feel like I could trust Thompson after it was all said and done. While I will not go so far as to say my system was sabotaged, I will say that it was all too coincidental that my unit failed after it was charged with refrigerant.

Thompson came out to fix my furnace and told me I needed a part that would cost me $759 (on top of the $69 fee they were charging me that day). I then called around and found that another company would do the same work for $359...a $400 difference! When I called Thompson to complain they did not return my call. Additionally, the Thompson repair man put giant Thompson stickers all over my furnace, my water heater AND my neighbor's furnace and water heater! Hader is the company that helped me out - they did an awesome job and charged me the exact price that was quoted to me over the phone..saved me $400.

We called today because the drain would not close properly. Thompson had a plumber here within an hour! Jeff replaced the faucet, the spout and the shower head. Jeff did a great job, he was very nice and professional. We have never used Thompson for plumbing, but we will definately use them again in the future!

They said I needed a part for the heating unit and another part for my air conditioning. I paid them for the replacement parts. I then asked for a estimate for some plumbing work I would have liked to have done. I ran into another plumber I knew and he came over and did the work for $400.00 less then Thompson's estimate. I began to wonder if I really needed the parts I was charged for my heating and a/c unit or were they taking me for a ride since their plumbing estimate was so high.

Overall the experience was great. I will rave about Thompson to all of my friends!

They were quick and efficient. They cleaned up after themselves. They brought the water heater up to go code.

Overall it was a great experience. Denzil, our service/sales guy was great! The installers were timely and professional. I would highly recommend Thompson!

They performed drain cleaning in my 2 bathrooms and kitchen. they provided a five and a half year warranty on this. They have done good work for us. I thought it as a pretty good serivce.

i wanted a price for new heating and air unit, instead they waisted my time

I was very satisfyed with Thompson Plumbing and will use them in the future. They were able to schedule an appointment for me the next day, which happened to be a Saturday. The serviceman arrived on time and spent about an hour clearing a pretty good clog. I reinstalled the toilet the next morning and discovered that it still wasn't flushing correctly. I contacted Thompson Plumbing (Sunday) and they had the same repairman at my house within an hour. He pulled the toilet and worked on the clog again and then reinstalled the toilet. The serviceman was very professional and apologized for having to come back out. Everything works correctly and I was very pleased with the service and the prompt attention I received when I called the next day.

They were on-time and the technicians were polite and courteous. That is where the good news stops. They recommend the same expensive repairs for both units. The units are 5 years old and they both need the same single-run-capacitor. It seems as though that is one of their favorites along with telling customers that they need hard-start kits for their A/C. I have had another company out and they said that the units did not need it and mentioned off the record that they have had to "clean-up" after Thompson many times.

Their estimate was much higher than others. The company I ended up going with charged me only $1800. This company also charged me $259 for a part that cost $9. I was very unhappy with them.